Monday, 6 January 2014

Exorcismus Deconstruction

Trailer for film



Possession scene



  • Low key-lighting casts shadows, quite conventional for this genre. Special effects are used to make her eyes seem completely white - makes audience believe she is possessed, as this is a conventional trait for a possessed person. The close up shot of her face highlights this.
  • Non-diegetic, edited dialogue of the girls voice is heard - a lot deeper, different tone - seems like a demons voice - completely the opposite of her normal voice.
  • Close up of wound on leg - special effects. In the shape of a crucifix which is obviously religious and so relates back to the genre. It is also a deep, bloody wound to make the audience shocked. The close up shot also emphasises the wound.
  • The leg restraints are also seen here, part of the mise en scene. It looks like belts tied to a chair, which implies that the girl becomes unnaturally strong which will scare the audience

  • Establishing shot of the room to show the audience how the girl is restrained, also just to set the scene. Not as typical to have her in a chair, but maybe for an older girl it is more acceptable. 
  • Otherwise the room looks completely normal (lamp, fireplace, desk), which might frighten the audience as it makes it seem more realistic.
  • Two-shot of the exorcist and the girl to show that it is an exorcism, and the girl is shouting and screaming, apparently in pain (diegeitc dialogue). Also the image is edited to make it look like a camera has been set up to film. There is a grainy filter with lines like an old video camera.
  • The girl appears to be breaking out of her restraints which makes the audience fearful as they do not know what is going to happen next. 
  • Back lighting makes her seem like a shadow so you can't make out her facial expression. Her costume is just a pair of 3/4 length jeans and a stripy long-sleeved top, making her seem like a normal teenage girl.
  • The man is obviously a priest because he wears a long black robe with the white collar
  • At this point she is calmer but there is still non-diegetic dialogue, as mentioned before.
  • Again, the editing helps show that this is a camera that has been set up as there is the 'play' text in the top left as well as other words.
  • She appears to be contorting her body which is something possessed people do in films.
  • The priest has a bible which is a conventional prop and adds to the mise en scene.
  • Low key lighting with slight back lighting casts shadows.
  • Clearly a symbolic sign - the cross. It is conventional to include religious symbols in films about possession.
  • She seems completely taken over through her body language - her head is down and she seems unresponsive. 
  • The priest just looks in shock - showing he's never seen anything like this before. The audience then deduce that this a serious case and adds to the scariness of the sequence
  • Here, the girl cuts deep into her hand using a knife, which is something quite conventional in possession films. She also does not flinch and her body language seems like she enjoys it, so the audience concludes that something is wrong with her. The close up shot helps to show the audience the depth of the injury. Also, special effects have been used to make it look like the girl is really cutting into her hand.
  • This is something we could explore during our own opening sequence.

  • A high angle shot shows the girl apparently worshipping a deity on the floor surrounded by her own blood painted to look like a demonic symbol. This completely reinforces the fact that she is possessed to the audience. It seems completely demonic and also uses the conventional religious symbols to get across the point that she is possessed. 
  • The blood seems to stand out as it is a dark red colour, compared to the rest of the bathroom.

  • In post-production they seem to have morphed the face through clever editing techniques. This distorts the face and makes her look more possessed.
  • Low key lighting also helps cast shadows which can further distort the way the face looks.
  • As well as this she appears to be screaming in a demonic way (non-diegetic) which is conventional for a supernatural horror.




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